Rahul and De Kock pace Lucknow chase in IPL win over Chennai

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Lokesh Rahul and Quinton de Kock brilliantly paced Lucknow Super Giants’ chase to beat Chennai Super Kings with an over to spare in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

Rahul’s and De Kock’s opening partnership of 134 runs set up Lucknow to reach 180-2 in reply to Chennai’s 176-6 and win by eight wickets.

Both teams have four wins from sevens games, but Chennai was third and Lucknow fifth on net run rate.

Skipper Rahul scored 82 off 53 balls with nine fours and three sixes. He was out with only 16 runs needed. De Kock scored 54 off 43 balls and fell in the 15th over.

They made full use of the power play, plundering 54 runs in the first six overs. Their partnership reached 100 off only 65 balls.

De Kock reached 50 off 41 balls, hitting five fours and a six, before he was caught behind off Mustafizur Rahman.

It was a poor bowling display from Chennai, however. The spinners weren’t able to exploit a slow-paced track, partly owing to the dewy conditions.